After a week hiatus, we’re back, with a juicy line up of stories. We’ve also started sharing more of our commentary on our website, over here.One big thingThese Google Slides digging into how 7-figure newsletters make money was brilliant. Despite the cheesy title, it shows how you can tell a rich story using Google Slides. Even without a voice over. And the information is useful. It anticipates the questions you might have,… Continue reading
Formula 1 is the yachting of motorsports, that is it is showy, speedy and intellectual. Many have been introduced or brought back to it through Drive to Survive on Netflix. As I was. Simply it is 20 drivers, racing around a track, in cars that have to adhere to regulations. Otherwise referred to as the Formula, hence Formula 1. There is a whole history around the regulations and the history which is… Continue reading
The role technology is playing in our lives is ever more present and top of mind. This piece explores optimism around technology, how the bad stuff is wired into us, economic freedom and how do we keep it in check.Should we even be optimistic about technology?Kevin Kelly is a futurist and author of books What Technology Wants and The Inevitable, looking at how technology shapes us. As founding editor of… Continue reading
We’re in the middle of a newsletter renaissance, with many writers opting to use paid newsletters as a means to go independent. Most recently, newsletters are associated with marketing, for internal or external purposes. But where did they come from? How long have they been around? This piece digs in to that and what we may expect from the future.To get started, what is a newsletter, The etymology of the word, gives us clues. Newsletter (n.)Also… Continue reading
This piece highlights the economics of attention across consumer media. This is curious for a few reasons, understanding what we as consumers get for free and what that’s worth, what consumers are willing to pay for content, the potential for up and coming media like TikTok, how scale and personalization impact the economics.We have broken it into two sections, different mediums and different platforms. And the dollar amount per hour the platform earns from our attention. Revenue per hour (cents)Medium Cable67Linear… Continue reading
Speculation has arisen again about the prospect of Apple launching a search engine. In July Apple updated its Applebot docs and the bot has since been observed crawling the internet more aggressively. So is now the time Apple launches a search engine? On HackerNews, an ex-Apple developer (jd20) shared how the first AppleBot was run. AppleBot being the program that goes out and builds an index of websites, captures metadata like topic,… Continue reading
One big thingReader David Berkowitz put me on to Rally.io, a way to create tokens for rewarding engagement in your community. The tokens are backed by the website. It’s early days so really what you can do with it is quite open. Users can be gifted tokens or buy/sell them.David mused on some of the things he’s thinking about here, I think if anything this helps community managers get better and more… Continue reading
This week, I’ve been listening in on a few Clubhouse chats. When there is a good moderator, a clear topic and duration, the experience is pretty good. When there’s not, well, it feels like those panels you leave early. If you’re on there, give me a follow @bwagy, or if you need an invite, I think we have a couple more. One big thing There’s been a bit of discourse on the creator economy, what is it? Why is it… Continue reading
One big thing At the Goldman Sachs Technology and Investor conference, Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey suggested they were exploring tipping tweeters. Thus providing a financial incentive to those who create the best content. Now, what does that sound like? Kind of like SnapChat’s Spotlight or TikTok’s Creator fund. If content creators are able to wrangle the cosmos to entertain, educate and draw attention they’ll be rewarded for it. Continue reading
One big thing You might have seen a few mentions of Snapchat Spotlight in the newsletter in the last few months. Spotlight is where any (and yes any) user can send in content to be featured. And if they get featured, they get a cut. In this Guardian piece, they shine the light on 19-year-old Jack, whose video of his dog scampering across a conservatory roof earned him $20k. I mean, this is great. Commentators have… Continue reading
